Stubborn, Sick, and Flashbacks
by bbgirl189
Summary: Dean gets sick, and has flashbacks to when he was a little kid, as Mary and Sam care for him. Set in Season 12.


Dean woke with a start and sat up quickly, looking around him in confusion, as he blinked repeatedly trying to clear his blurry vision. He blinked a few more times, as relief washed over him, as he made out his surroundings to be the bunker.

"Here, you look like you could use it." Mary said, putting a cup of coffee down in front of her eldest, and handed Sam one as he walked in a few minutes later.

"Slept at the table again?" Sam asked in exasperation, knowing eventually it would bite Dean in the butt.

"So what if I did?" Dean growled, noting his voice was abnormally scratchy. He took a sip of his coffee, but it didn't help his throat at all.

"Geez, crabby much?" Sam asked in annoyance, noticing that Dean appeared to be a bit pale and sounded like he had a sore throat.

"Boys, please get along." Mary pleaded, knowing they were all going stir crazy for a case. "Dean, why are you being so grumpy?" she asked him, wondering what his deal was.

"I am not grumpy, leave me alone." Dean grouched, as he got up, knocking over his coffee and spilling it across the table. "Sonuva... Achoo!" he sneezed suddenly, barely having enough warning to cover his mouth with his arm.

"Gesundheit." Sam said with a chuckle, as he knew his brother was sick, since Dean only sneezed when sick or around cats.

"Bless you." Mary said at the same time as Sam. earning a glare from Dean. "What? I'm not allowed to care now?" she demanded. "I've already apologized repeatedly," she added.

Dean sniffed, his nose barely able to breathe through. "There better not be a cat!" he snapped angrily, as his throat started to tickle, and before he knew it, he was coughing into the crook of his arm over and over again.

"You don't cough around cats..." Sam said, shooting Mary a look, and mouthed **_he's sick_**.

"Shut up, Sam." Dean ground out, as he walked over and collapsed on the couch. Achoo! Achoo! Achoo! Each sneeze stealing his breath and making him want to cough up a lung. He groaned softly, closing his eyes, until he felt a soft hand touch his forehead, unearthing a memory.

 **Flashback:**

 _Dean lay on his bed, shivering and shaking, crying as his little tummy hurt. "Mommy, it hurts." he complained, as he started hiccuping._

 _"I know, honey, its okay, if you get sick its okay. Mommy is here." Mary said to her 4 yr old son._

 _Dean lurched forward, throwing up for all it was worth, into the bowl his mom was holding for him. "M done." he said after a couple minutes._

 _"Okay, sweetheart. I'll be right back." Mary said, disappearing with the bowl, returning with it clean, and cuddled up on the bed beside her son so he could cuddle up with her. "Go ahead and sleep." she encouraged, touching his feverish forehead with her hand softly._

 **End of Flashback.**

Dean opened his eyes, to look up at his mom with sad and tired eyes. "I know, I have a fever." he said hoarsely.

"What are your symptoms, so I can take care of them, so you can rest?" Mary said gently, carding her fingers through his hair gently, earning a soft moan from the man before her.

"Here mom, you may need this." Sam said, handing her a big bowl, that she immediately passed to Dean, who gulped.

"Nausea, check. Fever, check. Sore throat and coughing, double check. Sneezing, check. Anything else?" Mary asked gently, mentally deciding what meds he needed.

"No..." Dean said, before grabbing the bowl and gagging over it.

"And vomiting, check. Sam, I need pepto, dayquil, and 2 ibuprofen." Mary listed off, as Sam nodded and disappeared to go get those items.

Sam returned moments later with the meds, before disappearing down the hall.

Mary dosed up the meds, offering each to Dean, who had only gagged that one time.

Dean swallowed the cocktail with a grimace, wincing as it hit his stomach and groaned, before starting to simultaneously cough and sneeze back to back. Once he stopped, he lay his head back, sniffling through his congested nose, and clearing his throat.

"Those meds should help you feel well enough to sleep," Mary explained gently, handing him a box of tissues, which he immediately stole a tissue from and blew his nose wetly.

"I just feel nauseous," Dean admitted in a low voice, that was barely there. "The pepto and dayquil mixing are making it more upset." he added, pulling the bowl closer, as he started to hiccup softly.

"Breathe in your nose, and out your mouth, Dean, like I taught you when you were three." Mary said gently, rubbing his neck gingerly, as he gagged suddenly.

 **Flashback:**

 _Dean sat at the table of nurse, having thrown up at his preschool twice, and feeling like he was going to again._

 _"Mommy, my tummy still hurts." he whined, his eyes wide with terror._

 _Mary smiled sweetly, and embraced him, putting a trashcan in front of him. "Try this. Breathe in your nose, and out your mouth." she said, demonstrating how, and doing it with him until he relaxed again. "Very good job, sweetheart." she said, as she went back to the paperwork, she needed to fill out to check him out early._

 **End of Flashback.**

Dean arched his back, bringing up the meds and coffee immediately, then sat there dry-heaving for what felt like ages.

"Dean, honey, when did you eat last?" Mary asked in concern, unaware that Sam was listening in.

"Breakfast, yesterday... I just wasn't hungry." Dean admitted weakly, collapsing back against the couch in exhaustion.

"You need to eat more often." Mary said sternly, before taking the bowl to wash it out.

"I know, mom." Dean mumbled, before falling asleep on the couch. No sooner did he fall asleep, did he wake up, dry- heaving weakly over the edge of the couch, only to start sneezing and coughing immediately afterward.

"My poor, Dean. You need to breathe and go to sleep." Mary said sweetly, as she put the bowl beside his head, and cocooned him in a blanket. "Sleep, sweetheart." she said gently.

Dean nodded slowly, giving up on staying awake any longer and dozed off again, curling in on himself, relieved not to be gagging, sneezing, or coughing.

It took another full day for the dry-heaving to officially stop, and a week for the coughing and sneezing to subside, only for Sam to catch it next... only he was much less grumpy and had no flashbacks.


End file.
